Reciprocity Road, a collective of promotional products distributors with approximately $220 million in gross annual revenue, has announced the recipient of its 2020 first-quarter scholarship.

A Place at the Table is a pay-what-you-can café that brings people together in Raleigh, NC, regardless of race, religion or means. Run by young social entrepreneurs, the café’s food mostly comes from local farms and is prepared by culinary masters.

“With this much-appreciated donation of $500, A Place at the Table will be able to feed approximately 125 food-insecure people healthy meals during a time when we truly must cherish and support a community in need,” Danny Rosin, co-president of Morrisville, NC-based Brand Fuel (asi/145025) and board member of Reciprocity Road, said in a press release. “Thank you for continuing with this BrandGood effort. It is truly inspiring and uplifting.”

Rosin said he shared coffee with a homeless gentleman who he later realized was carrying his home (a tent) with him into the café. The homeless gentleman mentioned to Rosin that through his volunteering at the café, he gained a sense of confidence in humanity, something he hadn’t had in a long time. His intent was to use his volunteer skills gained at the café to apply for a fast food job opportunity.

“Two years in, this innovative model has provided 19,527 healthy meals to the homeless population,” said Perry Wehrle, executive director for Reciprocity Road. “During these volatile times, communities need to keep nonprofits like A Place at the Table running. It is a pleasure to be able to support such an organization.”

In addition to providing buying power, Reciprocity Road members collaborate on creative ideation, best practices, philanthropy and more. The nine distributorships that make up the group are geographically diverse, with firms on the West Coast, Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and western Canada.